Does your App or Site need Beta Testers?

I think every founder will want to try this one out. BetaBait is a great idea. It’s a way to get early adopters to beta test your web, mobile and social applications. The service is 100% free and only takes a few minutes to submit your beta bait. I think I’ll try it out right now!

How it works:

Every day startups run into a major problem before they can publicly launch. They need beta users and testers. These people play an important role in helping the startup work out bugs, create new features and even turn into the first customers. However, in the past, founders and marketers have not had an organized and convenient way to find these testers without spamming email databases, social networks and personal contacts.

There are several key tactics to finding more beta users and testers, including: Build a landing page – It’s important that you have a place for potential users to come, learn a little bit about the application or service and be able to either sign-up for a beta invite or request more information. While you can get a web designer or front end developer to create a page like this for you, there are also services that can make it quick and simple, like LaunchRock (www.launchrock.com).

Leverage social networks – With the sheer amount of people and brands using social media networks, like Facebook and Twitter, they can be prime real-estate for attracting interested beta users and testers. For example, setting up a Twitter profile and finding relevant weekly chats, such as #cmgrchat or #smmeasure, can be a great way to get your new startup in front of a relevant crowd. However, don’t just ask for these people to request an invite, participate in the conversation and after you’ve earned their trust, then ask politely.

Introduce yourself to the right people – One of the most important activities to do when trying to find more beta users and testers is to find the influencers. Most people think this is just top tech bloggers or journalists, but there are others, too. For example, reaching out to other startup founders who might have large networks of potential customers (make sure your product doesn’t compete with theirs). Also, asking a blogger if they are interested in learning more or testing the application themselves can be a great way to gain early interest for potential coverage. These types of people, who have access to large networks, are key to find and engage.
Be proactive – If people are willing to sign-up for a beta invite, the best thing you can do is be transparent, open and timely. Don’t keep people in the dark for to long because the chances are if you wait, they will forget they signed up and when your email comes across, they’ll delete it. So make sure you’re close to launch, or, even better, already launched, before you go out seeking beta users and testers.

Of course, there are other ways to find more beta users and testers, but these seem to be the most popular and successful for many startups. If you’d like to share your tactics, please feel free to comment below.

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BetaBait isn’t around anymore, and a lot of similar websites have come and gone. In the past few years, it seems like many new blogs popped up wanting to help startups grow, but these blogs only get a few thousand visitors a month. Instead of adding yourself to the hundreds of blogs out there, focus on the top ones: Betalist, Product Hunt, Launching Next and Launching.io. You may not get listed by all 4, but if you’re listed by one or two, you’ll start seeing your startup shared across Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and tech blogs.

Since BetaBait isn’t and option for beta tester recruitment anymore, I wanted to pass along a new resource. Betabound (http://www.betabound.com) is a website where any company can announce their beta test for free. I hope it helps! Good luck!